Easy Strawberry Pound Cake

Sharing is caring!

Oozing with fresh strawberry goodness, this box mix Easy Strawberry Pound Cake delivers a moist and tender cake that is fruity, sweet, and stunning.

Strawberry Pound Cake Recipe

You aren’t going to believe how deliciously easy this one-bowl pound cake made in a bunt cake is!

It perfectly balances moist and dense, making the quintessential pound cake texture.

I love to make this pound cake with strawberries in the summer for brunch, breakfast, or even a special snack.

If you’re craving strawberry pound cake in the wintertime (and it does happen), just substitute frozen strawberries.

Your sweet tooth will thank you and you can trust this recipe to deliver every time.

Ingredients

• Boxed white or strawberry cake mix: Use your favorite brand. I prefer Betty Crocker Super Moist cake mix, but use your favorite.
  
• 3 Tbs. flour: This helps make the consistency more dense, just like a proper pound cake should be.
  
• Strawberry flavored gelatin: Use your favorite brand. I’ve used sugar-free strawberry gelatin for this recipe and it works just great. Strawberry gelatin is also what gives the beautiful pink color to your pound cake.
  
• Chopped fresh strawberries: You can substitute frozen.
  
• Eggs
  
• Water
  
• Vegetable oil
  
• Finely chopped strawberries: This is an optional ingredient. I sure love sprinkling them over the freshly glazed cake just to make it extra pretty. You can also wait to add these strawberries once you’ve placed the slices of cake onto serving plates.

Ingredients for the Glaze, optional but delicious

• Melted butter
• Powdered sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Milk a little at a time, as needed.
• Kosher salt

How to make strawberry pound cake

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a 9-inch angel food cake pan or 9-inch Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray; reserve. 

If you are using a Bundt cake pan for this recipe, instead of an angel food cake pan or loaf pan, spray it well with nonstick baking spray.

Then use a silicone basting brush to make sure the baking spray gets down into all the grooves.

Otherwise, your cake can stick and won’t come out of the pan like it needs to.

That is soooo disappointing!

In large mixing bowl, combine all the cake ingredients, including the chopped strawberries.

Using an electric mixer on low speed, beat the ingredients just until combined.

Then beat on high speed for 2 minutes; pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake, uncovered, on the center oven rack for 35-40 minutes. Or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

While the cake is baking and cooling, make the glaze.

Combine the butter, powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl.

Add the milk as needed, to get the consistency you desire for the glaze, whisking until smooth.

Remove the baked cake from the oven; cover the cake pan tightly with aluminum foil.

Place the covered cake pan onto a cooling rack; allow the cake to cool completely in the pan.

I have had the best luck with removing cake from a Bundt pan by letting it cool completely.

A cooled cake tends to contract and actually releases itself from a well-greased pan.

Once the pound cake cools in the pan, use a butter knife to loosen the cake.

Slide the knife down the side between the cake and the pan. Do this all the way around the outer edge of the cake.

Also be sure to loosen the cake around the center of the pan using the same technique.

Place a cake platter over the opening of the cake pan.

Using two hands, flip the cake pan over. Make sure to keep the platter tight against the pan until the cake pan is fully inverted.

At this point, the cake should slip out of the pan and onto the platter. Voila!

Drizzle the prepared glaze over the top of the pound cake.

Garnish with chopped strawberries, if desired, allowing some of the strawberries to fall onto the cake platter around the cake.

Serve at once or allow the glaze to set up a bit before serving.

Can I add strawberry puree into a pound cake recipe?

Randomly adding strawberry puree to a pound cake recipe can affect the outcome and the texture of the cake, especially if you add too much.

Because this recipe calls for chopped fresh strawberries (they aren’t fully pureed), a bit of flour is also added to the batter to help the cake to bake properly, keeping the structure in tact.

What is the difference between strawberry pound cake and strawberry shortcake?

Pound cake is a very dense, moist cake that is sweet.

Traditional shortcake is only slightly sweet, has a texture that is similar to a biscuit and tends to crumble when eaten.

Shortcake is especially delicious when served with strawberries that have added sugar.

The sugar makes the strawberries have a lot of juice that can be absorbed by the shortcake.

What makes a pound cake different from a regular cake?

Pound cake is typically very dense and moist in texture and is baked in an tube cake pan, angel food cake pan, or Bundt cake pan that has a hole at the center.

Regular cake has a lighter texture and can be baked in a wide variety of shapes and sizes of cake pans.

Is a pound cake the same as a Bundt cake?

Technically, any cake can be considered a Bundt cake if it’s baked in a Bundt pan.

A pound cake is a very dense and moist cake that was originally made with a pound each of butter, sugar, eggs and flour, thus it’s name.

Pound cakes are baked in a Bundt pan or an angel food cake pan because these pans have a hole in the center where the heat from the oven can circulate.

This helps cook the cake at the very center so it gets fully done all the way through.

What causes a pound cake to be gummy?

Sometimes a pound cake can have a gummy texture as a result of baking it in an oven that is too hot.

When the outside of the cake bakes more quickly than the middle, it can result in a center that is not fully cooked.

This is why it’s always important to bake a cake by doneness, rather than just solely by the time recommended in the recipe.

Inserting a toothpick or cake testing needle into the center of the baked cake is the only sure way to know if a cake is fully baked at the center.

The toothpick or cake tester needs to come out completely clean for a done cake.

What kind of pan do you need to bake

I like to use a nonstick Bundt cake pan since it makes the cake turn out looking kind of fancy on top, due to the ridges in the pan.

If it’s your first time baking pound cake, you may want to use a 10-inch angel food cake pan with a removeable center.

This kind of pan pretty much guarantees you can get the cake out of the pan successfully, with little hassle.

If you don’t have a Bundt cake pan or an angel food cake pan, you can also use a 9-inch loaf pan.

For this recipe, you’ll need two loaf pans, dividing the batter evenly between the two of them.

Using loaf pans means the batter will cook more quickly since the pans are smaller, so reduce the cooking time by 10-15 minutes or so.

The best way to test for doneness, is when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

What to do if your pound cake just doesn’t come out of the pan like it should

Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, a cake just doesn’t come out of the pan as a whole, pretty cake…it crumbles apart.

There are lots of reasons this can happen and I’ve had it happen before, too.

If that’s the case, don’t lose heart. Simply cut the cake into cubes and make a trifle!

It’s a super easy dessert that’s also really pretty.

You can add whipped topping, along with pudding and fresh fruit to layer with the cubed caked and then chill it until ready to serve.

Voila! Your cake is rescued.

More favorite strawberry recipes

Fresh Strawberry Crumble is made with fresh sliced strawberries covered with crunchy brown sugar, oat topping, and baked until golden brown and bubbly. Scoop it up warm and serve with your favorite vanilla ice cream on top. Your family will adore this easy strawberry dessert.

Cool and creamy, Strawberry Angel Food Cake Dessert is perfect for potlucks and layered with fresh strawberries, angel food cake, sweet cream cheese, and strawberry Jello.

Aunt Sue’s Strawberry Slab Pie is a delicious strawberry dessert pie that is easy to serve at graduation or summer parties right out of the cookie sheet. Just add a dollop of whipped topping and dessert is served!